Chivas USA is footnote in history after loss to Vancouver

With two hotshots sidelined on a chilly night, Chivas USA still maintained a healthy advantage in possession Saturday.

Possession may mean nine-tenths of the law in some quarters, but it didn't get Chivas a goal and the Goats helped Vancouver make history at Home Depot Center.

Defender Jay DeMerit's goal in the 68th minute gave the Whitecaps a 1-0 victory, the first away from home for the second-year expansion team in its 18th attempt.

It was the only shot on goal Vancouver could muster.

Chivas, meanwhile, could count dozens of shots on goal that never occurred, including one instance when four Chivas players held the ball in the penalty area without a shot being taken.

"That was exactly my reaction on that exact same play," Chivas coach Robin Fraser said. "It's something we need to address and just realize that to score goals, we need to really want to score goals.

"There were too many times tonight where we had opportunities (that) with an aggressive move, we might have been able to create a dangerous opportunity and we weren't aggressive enough."

Chivas took six shots in the game; only two were on target, and only one jeopardized Vancouver's net.

"I thought we possessed the ball well, but in the final third we lacked that punch, that little bit of creativity, executing plays," Chivas defender Ante Jazic said. "We have guys who are creative. We just need guys to let loose and just play."

Two home games, two 1-0 defeats, and it doesn't get easier. The Goats play three of their next four matches on the road, starting next week at Real Salt Lake.

"If you look at both games," Jazic said, "we could have, but could-have, would-have, what does that mean in soccer?"

Vancouver, which scored a 2-0 home win over first-year club Montreal last week, went 0-12-5 on the road in 2011. But the first try in 2012 was a charm before a crowd of 7,723 that braved the cold and a couple of rain showers.

There was no such fortune for Chivas (0-2). Forwards Juan Pablo Angel (concussion symptoms) and Alejandro Moreno (a twice-broken nose) weren't available to be on the receiving end of Chivas' passing between the boxes.

Rookie forward Casey Townsend made his first start and he had the best chance of the night for Chivas, but the club's frustrating 2011 season continued its spillover into this year.

Vancouver (2-0) had no shots on goal in the first half and it took the Whitecaps 27 minutes to even send a pass into the Chivas penalty area.

But they earned a corner kick after Chivas defender James Riley headed out a crossing pass and Davide Chiumiento sent his free kick into the box. Chivas midfielder Oswaldo Minda slipped, leaving DeMerit free, and he headed the pass into the goal on one bounce in the 68th minute.

Fraser said he thought Riley, who ended up face-down on the turf, had been fouled.

"To me, it looked like he got hammered," Fraser said. "But obviously, officials make their decisions."

A year ago, Vancouver was outscored 31-11 in road games.

Chivas commanded possession for virtually all of the first half but came close to scoring only once. Midfielder Ryan Smith, playing in the spot held last week by Ben Zemanski, came up with a steal and fed Townsend.

Townsend sent a curling shot toward the upper right corner of the goal, but Vancouver goalkeeper Joe Cannon made a leaping deflection just before the ball could find the back of the net in the 32nd minute.

"To be honest, I thought that was going in," Townsend said. "He made a good save and that's why he's been in the league for so long. It did feel good coming off, for sure."

Note: Earlier in the day, Chivas announced the signing of defender Scott Gordon from the Fort Lauderdale Strikers of the NASL.